


Dollhouse

by captain_vantass



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Angst, Familial Conflict, Manipulation, Sadstuck, implied rosemary - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 22:19:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3504836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_vantass/pseuds/captain_vantass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and her Mother get into an argument over something, family feuds ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dollhouse

Your hands shake slightly as you stop paying attention for the thousandth time. Some drawling conversation between your peers doesn't have the ability to fully capture your attention. You check again, for another message that may have come when you weren't paying attention. There wasn't one.

Your name is Rose Lalonde. 

And you're in a lot of trouble.

Getting into arguments with your mom isn't a big deal. You're used to them. You and her never see eye to eye. You're on entirely different wavelengths. She doesn't seem to understand that. You do. 

This is just another argument, you know this. But there's a different sort of unease that comes from enduring the wrath of an angry parent via message. It's a looming sort of threat. One that you know will involve yelling when you venture home.

You don't want to go home.

When you try to defend yourself, she shoots your defense down with such ease it almost makes you cringe where you sit. 

Part of you wants one of your friends to notice. Give you an excuse to unload. And when they do, you smile it off. Crack some dry humor, and that's the end of it. 

 

Heading home feels like heading to a guillotine. Except you'd rather face a large blade. You flash a small, painted smile to your friends as you wave them off and make your way inside. You're certain your heart is in your throat as you tread cautiously toward the kitchen. Her usual residence. With the dim lighting of your house, dark without the sunlight in the windows, she looks like a shadow. If you blinked, she'd be gone. You test this theory several times.

"Well?" She finally breaks the silence. You attempt nonchalance with a casual smile. The faintest curve of your lips. She looks unamused.

"Hello, Mother."

She snorts, sips her drink. You want to back out of the room. To turn and dash up the stairs with the haste of someone fearing the Devil at their heels.

"Is that all you have to say?"

You hesitate.

"You know you're in the wrong here." 

You try shaking your head slightly. She corrects you with a sharp, almost condescending tone. (So that's where you get that from.) "Yes, you do."

You'd argue, defend yourself with the typical wit you have on demand. But you don't have it in you. The mixture of the anxiety over coming home and the weight of being socially exhausted. It makes it hard to be as quick as usual.

Her scolding bothers you. It's different from usual. You feel like a toddler, being scolded for something silly. It's embarrassing. 

"I cannot believe you'd lie to me like that."

"I didn't li-"

"Yes. You did. You lied." 

You heave a sigh and resign to endure it. It's one battle in the war. You can handle letting her win this one. Even if she's wrong.

She eyes you for a moment. Through narrowed eyelids with a disapproving look that makes you glance away and huff a little. "Yeah. Choose your friends over your own Mother. See how well that works out for you." 

You bristle at the mention of your friends. You want to spit at her, Of course you'd chose them. They mean more to you then she does. They care more then she does. But you just manage to sputter an indignant. "I didn't!" With an added stress, like it would make her believe it more. She doesn't. "You can endure my missing dinner for one night. I'm sorry for not notifying you a week in advance, with a glitter covered calendar, but I had a date that had been set for tonight before you decided it was vital to have tabs on me at all times, like some so-" 

You're cut off by her abruptly slamming the bottom of her martini glass into the counter. You're more surprised the glass didn't shatter, then by the sudden movement. "Bullshit, your friends are not more important then quality family time."

Your teeth grind together and you fold your arms over your chest. Giving your body the ease of tensing in a stubborn position. Your hands curl around your shirt sleeves. "I told you I was goin-"

"Bullshit!" She raises her voice and you falter slightly. Part of you is angry for the fact you're sixteen years old and her shouting still makes you crumble. "You didn't tell me shit, you were just gone!"

"I tried to tell you but you-"

She cuts you off again, with a sharp tone like the blade of the guillotine you'd wished for previously. This is your own unique brand of beheading. One that hurts far worse. "You don't tell me. You ask. I am your Mother. You ask me for permission." 

You reluctantly nod, growing somewhat restless as she continues to scowl. Your gaze has become transfixed by a spot on the tile. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mother."

She huffs. A frustrated sound, like you were inconveniencing her. You briefly wonder if you are an inconvenience to her. "I don't understand why it was so important to go see them today."

You shrug a little. Because I couldn't stand being near you another moment? "They wanted to see me, Kanaya-" You stop abruptly when you hear the sound she makes at her name. And just like that, you have fuel to be on the offensive again. "What?" 

She rolls her eyes. Plucking her glass off the counter as she waltzes to go make herself another drink. "She isn't worth abandoning your previous engagements for. She's not even a good friend to you." 

"Yes. She is." You state through your teeth, punctuating every word with hostility. "She's my best friend.. She means the world to me." You decide stop yourself there. You wouldn't have gotten much farther anyway. She's laughing. She's laughing at you. 

"She's not a good friend. She's a rude, manipulative, bitch." 

Your voice raises before you can stop yourself. "She is not!" She glances at you. "She is my best friend. She is a great friend, She is not rude, or manipulative. She is kind and caring, and supportive. She's my best friend."

"She's not your friend. She's just using you."

You're almost dumbfounded. Almost. "Using me? For what? Decent companionship and a good conversation? The scoundrel!" 

"She isn't a real friend!" She counters, like it's a real argument. Like hearing that will make you thump your hand against your head and apologize.

You don't.

"She's my best friend! I love her!" Your cheeks grow a little hot at the words. It's not like they aren't true, you've said them to her before.

"No one will ever love you as much as I do!" 

You freeze. Tension washes over your entire body. The words strike right down to your heart. In the dead of night, when you're alone in your room. You've heard the creeping whispers from the shadows of your mind. Whispering lies, false promising of dying alone. Becoming a spinster. Friendless, forgotten, and alone.

You know she doesn't mean the words cruelly. But you can't help taking them like that. Besides, how was she supposed to know she stuck such a sensitive nerve? She's only your mother.

Her voice cracks slightly when she speaks again.

"You know that, right, Rosie?" 

You hesitate again. You think of Kanaya, of your friends, of the people who say I love you in more ways then you'd thought possible.

"Yes, Mother.. I.. Do. I love you too." 

You're certain she can hear the lie in your tone, you see expression twitch. She almost calls you out on it. "Go to your room." She finally murmurs. You turn without another word and barely keep yourself from running up the stairs. 

You can't help it. Once the doors closed, you sink against the door and break down sobbing.

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone thinks that we're perfect  
> Please don't let them look through the curtains.
> 
> -http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/melaniemartinez/dollhouse.html


End file.
